Flame of my Heart
by IntoTheWilds
Summary: ONE-SHOT: SUMMARY: The humans have declared war; mutants are a target and one woman made be the answer to salvation... Gender Bending fic.


**DISCLAIMER:**_ I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! X-Men: Evolution or their characters!_

**SUMMARY: **_The humans have declared war; mutants are a target and one woman made be the answer to salvation..._

* * *

_His bones ached, his head throbbed and his stomach screamed for a meal he hadn't seen in days. Or was it weeks? He had lost track sometime ago. The manacles bit into his wrists and moving was not an option, the clever bastards had completely immobilised him making escape impossible since his claws were no use to him and then it didn't matter. He was no longer alone and his world was once again pain and nothing more..._

Logan came to just about swallowing his exclamation. His chest heaved up and down with each ragged breath and the mutant was crouched over his pillow, claws unsheathed and ready to kill. But the only enemy at present was his blaring alarm clock and a wicked breeze clawing its way in through the opened window. Groaning Logan hopped off his mussed mattress and switched off his clock with one gruff stab of his index finger.

The nightmare was still fresh in his mind, even after a year it still haunted him.

They had been out on a simple exercise. Professor X had decided that with practice Kurt could further the distance he could teleport, unfortunately someone had been waiting for them. People in lab coats with mercenaries armed to the teeth. They had captured Kurt first, taking him down with a simple tranquilizer, next was Hank and Logan was the last. He had been a little harder to take down. His body burnt off tranqs too quick, bullets were hardly any use and the mercenaries were a tad reluctant about subduing a creature such as him.

They had taken him down eventually. Logan couldn't remember how exactly and when he had finally come too there was no sign of Beast or Kurt and he was strapped to a table in some sort of lab. They had been held for roughly three weeks and then shockingly released, dropped off at the location they had been captured at.

It took almost a week to get a word out of Kurt, the teenage boy was pretty much traumatised, oh hell, they all were. It took Hank three solid weeks to stop the shakes and even now, like Logan, all three suffered from horrendous night terrors and none of them were ever the same again.

The elf was the most affected. Kurt's joking personality pretty much disappeared over night. He rarely spent time with the other students and his relationship with Amanda Sefton had crashed and burned and day by day his depression was a dark cloud that no one seemed to be able to penetrate.

Yanking a t-shirt over his head Logan dressed quickly and leaving his bedroom he joined the throng of students heading downstairs for breakfast. Piotr was talking animatedly to Kitty while Remy shamelessly flirted with Rogue and Kurt walked just a couple of feet ahead, tail limp, eyes downcast. They kid looked exhausted and Logan knew the signs of a rough night better than anyone. With a sigh the gruff mutant dodged past an arguing Bobby and Sam and fell into step beside him.

"Good night elf," Logan said gently feeling awful when Kurt flinched in fright.

"_Was_?" The boy voiced sleepily glancing toward Logan with a slightly confused look on his face, "Oh, um, yes I suppose so."

Okay that was a lie but Logan didn't say as such and decided not to press the issue. He doubted Kurt would appreciate it if he did. The kid wasn't sleeping, nor was he eating properly either and Logan and the others feared he'd eventually make himself ill.

"Morning fuzzy elf," Kitty chimed bouncing up to them both smiling warmly, "you, like, ready for our geometry test today?"

"That's today?" Kurt asked tiredly frowning as he tried to remember if Mrs Hawkins had mentioned it but he could not recall.

"Elf," Logan chided, "You're grades are suffering badly enough without you failing another exam."

"Don't you think I know that Logan?" The teenager snapped in a flash of temper, "I...I just can't seem to...to concentrate on anything."

Scrubbing a hand over his face the blue furred teen apologised hastily for snapping and before either Kitty or Logan could stop him the eighteen year old disappeared in a flurry of smoke and a loud bamf.

"He's not coping," Kitty said pulling Logan from his meandering thoughts.

"I know half pint," Logan responded with a shake of his head, "I know."

"There must be something we can do," Kitty said helplessly.

In a year her best friend had become an unresponsive stranger. No more playing tricks or funny conversations. No more teasing Scott or Jean, no more poofing in and scaring her by accident, no more laughter, playful banter, or any sign of him simply being himself and everyday Kurt fell into further depression, it broke Kitty's heart.

"I don't think it's that simple squirt," Logan said stopping at the top of the stairs, one hand on the banister and other in his jean pocket, "I guess we just be there for him and hope for the best."

Kitty wasn't exactly one for patience, but she knew Logan was right. As much as she hated to admit it, there really was nothing they could do.

'_Logan, I need you and Beast to come to my study immediately.'_

With Professor Xavier's words echoing in his mind, Logan hurried Kitty along and hanging over the staircase hollered for Beast. The blue furred mutant was quick to answer his call and followed after the shorter mutant without question. Inside his study Xavier poured over documents expression grave.

"I need you two to investigate a facility not far from here," Xavier began without preamble, "it has come to my attention that mutants may have been held on the premises and experimented on."

"How did you come by this information?" Hank asked disgust lacing his tone at the idea of someone doing such a thing.

"A source of mine who works with the Government," Xavier answered honestly before setting his brown eyes upon his friends, "I will also warn you, it may be where you and Kurt were held."

Was that so? Well that was more than enough reason to get involved. Logan would jump at any opportunity that gave him an insight on what the hell had happened to them. The nightmares weren't enough in a way of information and they had been kept drugged a majority of the time. Obviously the elf would not be accompanying them, but Logan hoped that with answers the kid would finally be able to heal.

~o~

* * *

The blackbird touched down, silent as a butterfly, just outside a huge facility that looked as if it had only recently been vacated. Doors hung open, gaping like screaming mouths and there was no lights suggesting activity, in fact, there was no life at all.

"I don't like this," voiced Beast coming up beside Wolverine, "It looks as if the place was completely evacuated."

Sniffing, Wolverine growled, "It smells like a DNA lab, just like the one Magneto messed with Kurt in and we were kept here, I just know it."

Beast looked at the mutant wide eyed, "You don't think?"

"That our DNA was messed with? Oh yeah I definitely think."

Letting out a colourful and rare curse, Beast dragged a hand through his thick mane of blue hair, eyes taking in their dreary surroundings.

"We best go inside, we might find something."

"Agreed," Logan responded, unsheathing his claws just in case.

The inside of the building screamed abandonment. Doors were left wide open, some loose on their hinges, while broken furniture lay strewn all over the place. In one room in particular, destroyed lab equipment littered the place, vials all over the floor, congealing pools of Lord knows what drying in patches.

"Mutants," Logan sniffed, "several of them were kept here."

Grimacing in disgust Hank moved through the debris careful of broken glass. Noticing something, Beast crouched and among the shattered debris he located a small USB drive. A crack ran through the tiny device, suggesting someone had attempted to destroy it, but weren't successful. Dusting off somewhat miniscule shards of glass, the blue furred mutant held it toward his gruffer comrade.

"What do you make of this?"

"I say someone got careless, is what I think," Logan responded with a grin, "What's the bet's whatever went down is on that?"

"It's a very high possibility, but it's damaged and will probably take some time and effort to retrieve what is ever on it," Beast explained with a grin of his own, "Of course, I'm always up for a challenge."

Before Logan could respond, a noise drew his attention. Hand up he silenced Beast with a single gesture and carefully moved toward the door that lead into the lab. Footsteps, hasty footsteps and a gun being cocked, they were no longer alone. Cautious, Logan moved like a man military trained and just as one big booted foot came around the corner, the mutant was on the idiot with a fetish for guns.

The human went down with a curse, which was pretty much, all he managed before a knee was lodged firmly against his throat. The AK-47 flew from his hands skittering across the floor where it landed just at Hank's feet. Startled, green eyes lifted to get a better look of the blue furry mutant and he realised he was in for a world of hurt.

"Jesus! Please don't kill me," he begged pathetically.

"That depends on what you have to say for yourself bub," Logan growled.

The male was close to wetting himself from fright and clearly had no intention of withholding information, not with a very pissed off mutant pinning him to the floor, one he knew of from his boss.

"I-I was told to wait here, i-in case she came back!"

"Who came back?" Beast questioned, eyes narrowing, exchanging a look with Logan.

The green eyed man shook his head fiercely, "I'm just the muscle they tell us nothing, I swear!"

"You feel like believing him?" Logan growled tightening his grip, making the human squawk and his bowels expel in a messy puddle beneath him.

Beast sniffed in disgust shaking his head, "Let him go Logan, this pig knows nothing."

"This is your lucky day bub," Logan snarled tossing him to the ground. Clearly possessing some intelligence the soldier was quick to flee.

"Hey Logan," Beast called from the other side of the room, "I found journal entries."

The feral mutant made his way toward Beast. Shuffling through meaningless dribble Beast froze coming across something of interest. It was written in a neat cursive and immediately Hank thought it was a woman's handwriting.

"Listen to this, _'_A_ is eight months along thanks to the DNA of our captive, _Kurt _that's his name. He gave _Nightcrawler_ when we asked him, but we already knew who he was. She is healthy, as is the baby she carries. So far there aren't any noticeable differences to suggest a defect of healthy cellular growth during pregnancy. So is mutation an illness or is it truly the next step in evolution? _A i_s getting anxious. She fears for the child's life and I can almost see the wheels turning in her mind. She means to escape...and I intend to help her'_..."

"Oh my God," Logan croaked, "Jesus Hank, do you really think that's true?"

"That they used Kurt's DNA to impregnate some girl to see how exactly mutation worked? Yes I do, there are plans here, diagrams, even something about attempting to carry the infant in a synthetic womb but...my God, they kidnapped the girl for their experiment!"

Logan cursed, "Why does that not surprise me?!"

Beast angrily tossed the documents back onto the corner desk he had found them on and looked back at Logan.

"There is a teenage girl running around pregnant with Kurt's baby, and by these dates, she's due any day now."

And wouldn't that just be what the kid needed to hear? As if life hadn't thrown enough at him.

~o~

* * *

The Bayville café was extremely quiet for that time of night its neon sign flashing colour over the floor and tables now and again. A tall man in worn jeans and a long leather coat ignored the curious stares of the diner personal and took his order from the gawking waitress without so much as a backwards glance and sliding into the booth nearest the back he smiled sweetly at his companion.

"Here Atemu, you should eat."

Atemu looked up from the old newspaper she was pouring over, her face drawn and thin and yet she managed a smile regardless, "thank you Mahad." A wince twisted her features momentarily and when Mahad just about surged to his feet Atemu grasped his hand, "easy, easy, the baby is just kicking."

"You're sure?"

"Yes, I promise you old friend," Atemu said soothingly rubbing a palm over her swollen belly, "she isn't going anywhere just yet."

She, Atemu still couldn't believe she was going to have a girl a fact she discovered thanks to Mahad's magic. It was still hard to believe she was in this position. Atemu had said goodbye to it all, to her Hikari, her friends and had entered the realm of the death. She had been content, happy to exist with her family and friends in the afterlife but the Gods had other plans and just like that Atemu found herself back in the land of the living at the feet of soldiers armed to the teeth. They had taken her captive and had done physicals asked her questions—where Atemu feigned a lack of English—and eventually began injecting her with something. It wasn't until that blonde doctor arrived in her cell with a pregnancy test did the former Queen even know what they had been doing. It had taken more than one try and Atemu had been confirmed pregnant.

She had been hysterical at first, feeling violated. No one had raped her, but the fact that she had a life growing inside her and hadn't had a say in the matter was so wrong that Atemu had fought like a wild animal to get away from them. It had taken six attempts at escape before the teenager finally accepted her faith. That was until Doctor Liza Kelly had taken pity on her and helped her finally gain her freedom.

Atemu had been on the streets a week when she realised she was being followed and that's how she came upon Mahad acting like a guardian angel. Apparently the Gods had intended for all of this to happen, Mahad was to act as her guardian until the Gods deemed it unnecessary and Atemu and her daughter were going to be what changed the human-mutant war and to Atemu's shock she had been chosen because she _was_ a mutant.

Trained in magic, everyone had figured Atemu was simply a rare talent, granted extra power by Ra himself. As it turned out she was a mutant with the ability to create illusions and project images into the mind.

It had taken some getting used to and after a few rusty years with practice Atemu used her powers to help survive the final weeks of her pregnancy. Mahad posed as her husband and thanks to a simple illusion no one saw a pregnant teenager and twenty-five year old man.

"The baby will come any day now Atemu," Mahad said gently, "do you still intend to find the infant's father before then?"

"Yes," Atemu said setting down her half eaten sandwich, "This baby isn't just mine and maybe he won't want anything to do with her, but Liza said he and his team of mutants would still grant me refuge."

Mahad shook his head casting his eyes upon his mug of coffee, "I do not like it Atemu," he admitted softly, "I'm to protect you. It is why Ra granted me life again, but if you think this is the best place for us to go, then I shall not argue."

Atemu smiled, "thank you for trusting me Mahad."

Reaching across the table, the seventeen year old grasped Mahad's fingers stroking her thumb over his knuckles. Everything seemed daunting, but for now Atemu could at least pretend everything was sweet and rosy, the busy moves of her baby making her smile.

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**TRANSLATIONS:**

**GERMAN:**

_Was?_ – What?


End file.
